Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-04-16

Still the S:vle Of Cuba has sadly vaned Of
late, and the Cuban millionaire is no longer
found at American watering piares. The
soil OF Cuha iS as rich as any in tha world.
but the Cubans are poor. Sugar and tobacco
have been the islands chief source of profit
for years, and the manufacture OF beet sugar
has so reduced the price OF cane sugar that
the most of the sugar estates Of Cuba are now
running at a loss. IL takes lots Of money
to run u sugar estate and there are
some in Cuba am told which cost
as much as s200,Gh0a year When it IS re
membered that some of these estates are from
$40 to l0,0oo acres in extent. il will be seen
that this not improbable. The taxes, how
ever. keep on all the same, and Cuban taxa
ton is reduced to Il science. They would tax
the air here if they could get any adequate
measure by which to regulate it, They do
tax everything else The steamer Mascotte
which carries the mail to the United States,
has to pay a tax Of $500 every time it enters
the harbor at Havana. Travellers are taxed
81 apiece upon their passports, and this hotel
in which write this letter, after paying a
number OF hundred dollars for the privileg-
nf doing business, is taxed five cents for each
name on its register, and it has TO put q
revenue stamp of that amount opposite
each name. This is new tax, and the
landlord of this hot.l did not at first
observe it, The omission was discovered and
he was fined 500 The cab drivers pay
heavy tax, and the boatmen who land pas
sengers in the harbor have To buy a license
Small retail stores pav 500 = year, and a.
their business increases they pay more. Each
tradesman is taxed a certain amount for
every letter on his sign, and clerks must pay
~ per cent. Of their quarterly salaries. The
thousand miles Of railway in Havana are
taxed 10 per cent of all the freight and pas
sage money they receive, and every citizen
OF Havana has TO pay IS year for & docu
ment of identification or passport for home
use These are but few items of taxation
Of which | have heard. Is il any wonder
that the native Cubans hate Spain and that
the prices Of everything are entravagantly
hight
Speaking Of the Cubans, the popu)s ton
here is succotash Of native Cubans or ere
oles, negroes. Chinese and SpaniHrds. The
Spaniards are the ruling and in general the
business class The creoles the revolu
tlonists, and the Chinese, negroes and soms OF
the creoles the laborers. There are about
500, 900 negroes in Cuba, 30,uO0 Chinese, and
the remainder are Spaniaris ami creoles.
The negroes are FAR different from the Amer
lean negro In that they seem to have 10 life
or joyousness about them. They look ugly
ana sad. Some of the wealthier OF them
rank very we'll. Some of these are seen
riding in cabs and putting on rs much style
As the head waiter of a Saratoga hotel. The
Chinese of Cuba are of tho lowest grade
They are the offspring of the coolies, and they
frequently mteEmarry with negroes. They
have a Chinese market in Havana and Chi
nese theatre. | attended, the latter aud sat
for an hour listening 10 a concert which re-
minded me of an army of cats engaged In a
midnight battle.